“The happier I have allowed myself to be, the happier my children have become. The More I have become myself, the more they have done the same.” Excerpt from The Parent’s Tao Te Ching
As parents, perhaps the most precious thing we can give our children is the gift of our full presence, in the moment. This is the deep intention and invitation for parents as they make space for mindfulness practice in their lives. Mindful parenting takes to heart the deep truth that we can only give to our children what we have given first and fundamentally to ourselves through daily mindful practice.
Mindfulness is the capacity to be fully present with one’s actual, moment-to-moment experience as it is arising, with kind attention, without the mind trying to make it different. More often than not, we are on “automatic pilot,” mindlessly driven by mental patterns, preoccupied with a future that never quite arrives and a past that is no longer happening. As a result, we often feel stressed, anxious, depressed, out of sync and exhausted, which can greatly undermine parenting capacity. Mindfulness meditation practices help to restore and strengthen the body/mind connection from within, in any moment, increasing health and well-being, as well as our capacity to parent.
As we become more aware of our own deepest needs through this practice, mindful parenting also involves decoding and addressing the deeper needs of our children, rather than getting mindlessly caught up in and reactive to surface behaviors. Therefore, the cultivation of self-compassion/love, healthy self-acceptance and self-awareness are essential components of skillful and effective mindful parenting. Mindful parenting involves the “inner work” of coming home to oneself as an authentic human being for the benefit of all. As parents learn to open and “come home” more and more of their unique wholeness, letting go of unrealistic expectations, they are more available for their children, seeing and loving them more and more as they really are. Through both daily formal and informal practices, this mindful parenting course will focus on relevant themes, such as managing strong emotions, reactivity and stress, improving mindful communication, honoring sovereignty, recognizing and actively reshaping one’s maladaptive mental patterns, as well as cultivating compassion, lovingkindness and self-care.
Schedule:
Wednesdays, 6:30pm to 8pm PT
April 10
April 17
April 24
May 1
May 8
May 15
Suggested Donation: $150
